SENDAI -- A yacht harbor in Miyagi Prefecture that was destroyed by the tsunami after the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 held a sailing race over the weekend to celebrate its reopening, a return to its days as a base for young sailors in the Tohoku region.
The North-Japan open sailing championship was held at the Yuriage yacht harbor in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture. Summerlike weather greeted the crafts on Saturday, with around 120 participants taking part, including college students. The sleek crafts made their way around the harbor, which reopened earlier this month after being closed for seven years and two months.
The yacht harbor is well suited for sailing, as it has no natural barriers such as small islands in its nearby waters. It had long been the hub of sailing activity in the Tohoku region.
At the time of the earthquake, college- and high school students training on the sea were safely evacuated to an inner bay, but the tsunami completely destroyed the facilities.
The three-day championship was hosted by the Miyagi Sailing Federation and other organizations, and ran through Sunday. The director of the federation, 24-year-old Tohoku University senior Hirotaka Ito, watched over the competitors as a chief judge on the sea.
"I am glad to see many yachts sailing in the sea off the Yuriage district again," Ito said.
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